TRU law school receives generous donation

KAMLOOPS - Two legal professionals with ties to Kamloops have made a generous contibution to aid the continuing growth of the law school at Thompson Rivers University

Administrators at the institution recognized Master of the Supreme Court of British Columbia Rob McDiarmid and Sharon Matthews Friday, Jan. 23 for their $50,000 contibution to the law school.

"For the law school to continue to succeed, it needs proper financing and the cost of a legal education is significant," McDiarmid said. "Scholarships and bursaries need to be available to help offset that cost for most law students. Our gift is a small contribution to that."

A seminar room used by law students on campus has been renamed The McDiarmid Room in honour of the contribution.

McDiarmid was one of several lawyers who advocated for the law school's development at the university. He worked in Kamloops law field for more than 35 years and in 2011 when he was appointed as a Master of the Supreme Court, he was working at local firm Morelli Chertkow.

A former president of the Canadian Bar Association, Matthews now servers as a bencher at the British Columbia Law Society.

"As an advocate for greater access to justice, I believe the law school will make a real difference by educating lawyers in the interior of BC where many communities and many First Nations people need greater access to justice," she said.

The inaugural group of law students graduated in the spring of 2014.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

OPINION Editor, This is a busy time of year, but I find it’s also a time of reflection, particularly as January marks the end of my two-year term as Chair and my 10 years serving on the Board of Interior